Trauma & Yoga Series:
Exploring Power, Privilege & Healing
A seven-part series of workshops presented on the ways that trauma impacts different communities, and the role of yoga in addressing that trauma.
Featuring Sangeeta Vallabhan, Jenn Turner, Nityda Gessel, Hala Khouri, Mei Lai Swan, Kelly Marshall & Jivana Heyman
NOW AVAILABLE ON DEMAND
7 x 2-hour workshops — 14 hours total
Replay of BONUS Q&A session with Nityda Gessel & Jivana Heyman
Access replays & resources for 1 year
(Series was recorded live in July 2022)
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The Trauma & Yoga Series is an effort to move the conversation forward in the area of yoga and trauma.
The emphasis is on the nuance and complexity of trauma, rather than looking for a one-size-fits-all approach.
In each session we’ll address a different aspect of the ways that trauma impacts specific communities, as well as best practices for sharing yoga in a trauma informed way.
Trauma & Yoga Series:
Workshop Outlines
Session 1:
Introduction to Yoga & Trauma
with Sangeeta Vallabhan
Trauma is reality within our human experience. Bad things happen all the time, to everyone. Yoga is an entire system of philosophy and practices to help people, as individuals, become sovereign beings. Asana is a somatic practice that can offer individuals relief and cohesion with any other healing modality they are doing. Healing modalities working together are how many individuals suffering from trauma move out of a painful place and into a place where they have more agency within their lives. Asana offers a lot, but yoga, on the whole, can offer so much more. Are we ready to go there?
Session 2:
The Teacher-Student Relationship
with Hala Khouri
There’s no doubt that yoga can be a powerful tool in healing trauma, and a healthy teacher-student dynamic can help heal relational wounds. However, without a healthy dynamic between the teacher and student, even the most effective tools can cause harm. Clear boundaries, effective communication and understanding concepts like transference and countertransference can allow for a trauma informed teacher-student dynamic that centers the healing and safety of the student and invites the teacher into radical self-awareness and self-care.
This workshop will offer a trauma informed framework for a healthy teacher-student relationship. For teachers, this is vital work in order to be a responsible and ethical space holder. For students, this information can empower you to discern between a teacher who is skillful and safe and one who may cause you harm, whether or not they intend to.
Session 3:
Yoga Psychology, Somatic Spirituality, and Race-Based Traumatic Stress
with Nityda Gessel
What is the relationship between race-based traumatic stress, yoga psychology, somatic healing practices and spirituality? This is what we will explore together in mind and body. Nityda will offer participants a working definition of trauma and race-based traumatic stress, and insight around the alchemical nature of somatic and psychospiritual practices both for those who are survivors of race-based traumatic stress and those who are carrying racism and other forms of prejudice in their bodies. While part of this offering is educational and informational, much of this practice will be experiential and contemplative- the answers, afterall, are within.
Session 4:
The Neurobiology of Trauma and Yoga
with Jenn Turner
The impact of psychological trauma is profound and complex, and can reverberate through the body for years beyond an event. Understanding the ways that trauma plays out in the body can support us as yoga practitioners in better meeting and holding a safer space for those who have endured it. This workshop will offer a concrete and deep understanding of how trauma impacts the body, pulling from research, neuroscience and the lived experience of survivors.
Session 5:
Trauma, Identity & Relationships
with Mei Lai Swan
Life is relationship: with ourselves, others, and the world we live in. It’s the quality of these relationships that give us our experience of life. Put simply, wellbeing and trauma are fundamentally experiences of connection and disconnection. In this workshop, we will explore the impacts of trauma and disconnection on our wellbeing and relationships – our human relationships, our relationship with our own body, mind and spirit, and with nature and the world around us. Drawing from trauma therapy, yoga, and earth-based practices, we look at ways to restore connection and transform our sense of identity for our healing and wellbeing.
Session 6:
Transforming Wellness: Becoming Truly Trauma-Informed
with Kelly Marshall
There is a lot of dialogue shared in wellness communities about becoming trauma-informed through various techniques, theories, and methodologies. Because the wellness world in the United States is situated at the crossroads of privilege and spiritual bypassing, these powerful tools can often miss the mark where it matters most. Join transgender yoga therapist and educator Kelly Marshall in an intimate and vulnerable conversation about the ways we participate in wellness via our personal lived experiences, the intersections of our identities, and how our biased viewpoints are sometimes the biggest barriers to our healing and wholeness.
Session 7:
Series Wrap Up: Reflection & Discussion
with Jivana Heyman
In this final session, Jivana Heyman will help to wrap up the Trauma & Yoga Series by looking back over all the previous sessions through reflection and discussion. He'll review essential points that the presenters made, as well as personal reflections on their teachings. This will be an opportunity to digest and assimilate all the diverse views and offerings made during the workshop series, as well as an opportunity for questions and answers regarding how to move forward with greater awareness around trauma and how it can impact our practice and teaching.
BONUS Q&A:
with Nityda Gessel & Jivana Heyman
This Trauma & Yoga Workshop Series is an exploration of many of the ways Yoga can support us as we heal from trauma. On-Demand access to this series now includes a special bonus Q&A session replay with two of the series presenters, Nityda Gessel and Jivana Heyman (recorded live in May 2023). Nityda and Jivana discussed some of the takeaways from the incredible presentations shared in this program, and answered questions from attendees who had enrolled in the series.
Creating Safe(r) Spaces
"I am drawn to this work because I see that we need to fill the gap of how we offer yoga and meditation to people who are suffering in complex ways. Conventional classes don’t always do the trick. We have to find ways to create safe spaces and offer these types of practices in kind and accessible ways."
– Sangeeta Vallabhan
Being People-Informed
"We are all impacted by stress and trauma. In fact, we are shaped by life’s challenges, and the impact of these challenges. I think of being trauma informed as being “people informed". A framework that asks us to consider the impact of trauma and stress on our actions and words asks us to be cognizant of people's humanity while engaging with them, and values safety and respect as the most important qualities of a teacher."
– Hala Khouri
Meet Your Facilitators
Sangeeta Vallabhan
Sangeeta Vallabhan (she/her) has been studying movement since she was young, first through dance and then yoga. She has been teaching yoga in New York City since 2003. She has studied vinyasa, prenatal, restorative, and advanced vinyasa, amongst others. In total she has studied over 1200 hours. She trains teachers at the 200hr and 300hr levels. She has taught yoga nationally and internationally; she has also been featured in Yoga Journal, Health Magazine and other online publications. Since 2013, she has been studying trauma informed yoga with many different teachers. Pursuing these studies enabled her to better face her own experiences with trauma and her recovery has inspired her to help others. In 2019, Sangeeta started training students in trauma informed yoga with her own training, solemarch - a trauma informed yoga teacher training. In 2020, she founded a non-profit, The Practice Coalition, an organization dedicated to supporting survivors of domestic and sexual violence with trauma informed yoga.
Get to know Sangeeta:
www.sangeetavallabhan.com | www.thepracticecoalition.org facebook.com/sangeeta.vallabhan | facebook.com/thepracticecoalition @sangeetavallabhan | @thepracticecoalition
Hala Khouri
Hala Khouri, M.A., SEP, E-RYT (she/her), is a sought-after speaker and trainer on the subject of trauma, embodiment and social justice. She has been teaching yoga and movement for over 25 years and has been doing clinical work and trainings for 15 years. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from Columbia University and an M.A. in Counseling Psychology and an M.A. in Community Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. Hala is also trained in Somatic Experiencing, a body-based psychotherapy that helps resolve trauma and its symptoms. Hala is a co-founder of Off the Mat, Into the World, a training organization that bridges yoga and activism within a social justice framework and an Adjunct Professor at Pitzer College. She leads trauma informed yoga trainings nationally. She leads a monthly, online membership program called Radical Wellbeing. She is the author of Peace from Anxiety: Get Grounded, Build Resilience and Stay Connected Amidst the Chaos (Shambhala).
Get to know Hala:
halakhouri.com | facebook.com/halayoga | @halayoga
Nityda Gessel
Nityda Gessel (she/her), LCSW, E-RYT, is a mother, licensed somatic psychotherapist, trauma specialist, yoga educator, speaker, author, and heart-centered activist, residing on the unceded land of the Chesepian people, commonly known as Virginia Beach, VA. Nityda has devoted her life to uplifting others, working at the intersection of Eastern spirituality, holistic mental health, and embodied activism. She is the founder of the Trauma-Conscious Yoga Institute, creator of The Trauma-Conscious Yoga Method®, and author of forthcoming Norton book on trauma healing and embodied spirituality.
Get to know Nityda:
traumaconsciousyoga.com | @trauma_conscious_yoga_method |
facebook.com/The-Trauma-Conscious-Yoga-Institute
Jenn Turner
Jenn Turner (she/her) has had the honor of working with survivors of trauma for all her career. Along with working in private practice as a trauma-informed therapist, Jenn is the Co-Director of the Center for Trauma and Embodiment where she works to oversee training and supports the development of body-first interventions for healing from trauma. Jenn also leads trainings in Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) throughout the U.S, provides consultation to organizations on how to become more trauma informed at all levels. In 2021, Jenn edited the book Embodied Healing: Survivor and Facilitator voices from the practice of Trauma Sensitive Yoga.
Get to know Jenn:
www.jenn-turner.com | www.traumasensitiveyoga.com | @tctsy
Mei Lai Swan
Born on the unceded Indigenous lands of Australia, Mei Lai Swan (she/her) is the founder of social enterprise yoga school Yoga for Humankind, offering specialized trainings in Trauma-Informed Yoga and Embodied Social Change. Dedicated to the paths of yoga, meditation and community practice for over 20 years, Mei Lai Swan’s approach to yoga is deeply embodied, inclusive and inquiry-based. She is an experienced yoga teacher trainer and certified Embodied Flow facilitator with a professional background in music, community development and social work. Mei Lai specializes in trauma-informed yoga and social justice, somatics and nada yoga. Mei Lai is passionate about building community and making the richness and depth of the yoga teachings and practices accessible, relevant and empowering for every body, heart and mind.
Get to know Mei Lai:
www.yogaforhumankind.org | @yogaforhumankind |
facebook.com/yogaforhumankind
Kelly Marshall
Kelly Marshall (they/them) is a wellness educator and has worked in varying capacities as a massage therapist since 2007; a registered yoga teacher since 2012, and a certified Yoga Therapist since 2016. They specialize in facilitating a safer space for clients and students to reconnect with their bodies and drop into a deeper state of awareness in order to heal. With Transforming Wellness, they offer comprehensive and trauma-informed education for wellness and healthcare practitioners around deconstructing the white capitalistic frameworks of wellness and healthcare. They center forging mutually supportive communities, relationships and structures around the values of intersectional equity, understanding, and cultural humility. They focus upon creating a safer space of healing and empowerment for individuals in the LGBTQIA+ population and those who are addressing trauma, anxiety/depression, body and gender issues, and more.
Get to know Kelly:
spectrumwellnessaustin.com | @spectrumwellnessatx |
facebook.com/spectrumwellnessatx
Jivana Heyman
Jivana Heyman (he/him), C-IAYT, E-RYT500, is the founder and director of Accessible Yoga, an organization dedicated to increasing access to the yoga teachings and supporting yoga teachers. He’s the author of Accessible Yoga: Poses and Practices for Every Body; Yoga Revolution: Building a Practice of Courage & Compassion; and The Teacher's Guide to Accessible Yoga: Best Practices for Sharing Yoga with Every Body.
Over the past 30 years of teaching yoga, Jivana has focused on welcoming all people to practice and celebrating our individuality and our differences. His work has focused on dismantling ableism in the yoga world, as well as emphasizing the intersection of yoga and social justice. His books, classes, and trainings support yoga teachers and yoga therapists in finding ways to bring creativity and collaboration into their teaching while still respecting the ancient yoga tradition.
Get to know Jivana:
www.jivanaheyman.com | @jivanaheyman | facebook.com/jivanaheyman
Information & Powerful
"I’d recommend the series to anyone because it met my values for Ahimsa & compassion, growth & information, Satya / uncovering truth, and it included diverse teachers / facilitators that shared with wisdom through multiple lenses of experience. Thank you for this offering; it was very informative and powerful."
– Lisa Pelanne
Diversity of Voices
"It was great to have the opportunity to hear from a variety of teachers on varied topics. I enjoyed the different centering styles offered by each. So valuable to hear from a diversity of voices I may not encounter so openly otherwise."
– Miriam Bradman Abrahams
Tuition & Payments
Tuition for this on-demand online workshop series is $225-$345 USD sliding scale.
If you are able to enroll at the Supporter or Sustainer Rate, your contributions support the ability to offer a lower rate to community members experiencing financial difficulties. We also offer partial scholarships for this course.
Need a partial scholarship?
Please take a moment to consider the intention of our scholarship program and equity pricing structure, which was created in order to amplify training access for those who hold marginalized identities and those experiencing significant financial hardship. If neither of those qualifications apply to you, we ask you to please consider the payment options available in relation to your current access to resources, and perhaps supporting others in our community who have decreased access to financial resources by enrolling as a Sustainer or Supporter, if this is accessible to you.
Wealth of Information
"This series was so excellent. Really informative, very approachable presenters, a wealth of information across a broad range of topics, and helped me so much in better understanding my own personal trauma. Beyond grateful for this series. Thank you!"
– Trauma & Yoga Series Participant
Richness of Conversation
"Thank you for offering this course and for offering replay for all of the sessions. I really enjoyed the diversity of the facilitators and of their experiences, giving richness to the conversation and highlighting the different faces of trauma. I also really enjoyed the high level conversation."
– Trauma & Yoga Series Participant
